Current NovaBACKUP Version / Changelog

Current NovaBACKUP Version: 21.3.410

NOTE: Use the "Check for Updates" button in the Help menu of the software to find the latest version available. It can take about a week after a new version is announced before the software notifies users that an update is available.

Issues installing NovaBACKUP? Start here: Installation ends prematurely on client install

Important Notes

NovaBACKUP Support can only assist with products that are still supported by Microsoft. See Microsoft Products Ending Support for the current lifecycle list.

Per Microsoft's Support Policy, the following operating systems are no longer supported as of October 10, 2023:

Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 (all editions)
Windows 7 (all editions)
Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Small Business Server 2011 (built on Windows Server 2008 R2)

The following applications are no longer supported as of April 11, 2023:

Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 and 2010
Microsoft SQL Server 2012, 2008, and 2008 R2

NovaBACKUP 21.0.x and later cannot be installed on any of the operating systems or applications above. 32-bit (x86) operating systems are also no longer supported.

Jump to a Release

Version 21.3.x
- 21.3.410
Version 21.2.x
Version 21.1.x
Version 21.0.x
- 21.0.410
- 21.0.319
Version 20.1.x
Version 20.0.x
- 20.0.1118
- 20.0.1011
Persistent Known Issues & Workarounds

Version 21.3.x

21.3.410

Release Date: 20APR2026

NovaBACKUP 21.3 introduces multi-tenant management, expanded role-based permissions, and the ability to push backup client updates to remote agents from Management Server. This release also resolves a large number of backup, restore, and management console issues.

New Features

Multi-Tenant Management. Organizations managing multiple clients or business units can now segment NovaBACKUP data into separate tenants, keeping each tenant's agents, users, storage, and settings fully isolated.

Tenant switching: Administrators can switch between tenants from the navigation menu to manage each customer or business unit independently.
Users per tenant: Users can be assigned to one or more tenants and filtered, listed, and exported by tenant.
Groups per tenant: Agent groups can be associated with a tenant, with tenant membership automatically inherited by sub-groups.
Storage per tenant: Amazon S3 compatible storage servers and cloud storage accounts can be scoped to a specific tenant.
Roles per tenant: Roles and their permissions can be scoped to specific tenants.
Safety guardrails: The system prevents removing the default tenant or default role to protect against accidental misconfiguration.
Deletion safeguards: Deleting a tenant now prompts for confirmation and correctly handles any groups or agents still associated with it.

Role-Based Permissions. Administrators have more precise control over what users and MSP accounts are allowed to do.

View and Edit Tenants permissions: New "View Tenants" and "Edit Tenants" permissions can be granted per role, controlling who can see or modify tenant data.
Permission-constrained role management: Users cannot create or edit roles with more permissions than they themselves have.
MSP sub-user creation: MSP users can now create sub-users with the same or lesser permissions, including a read-only Technical MSP role for support staff.

Remote Agent Updates. Management Server can push backup client updates directly to remote agents without any manual intervention at the endpoint.

Trigger updates remotely: Push a backup client update to any connected agent from the agent details page in Management Server.
Update session history: The agent details panel shows a full history of update sessions, including processes run, messages logged, and files involved. Logs can be downloaded for review.

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Central Management

The "Run as" tab in file backup job settings now loads significantly faster.
Clicking "Today" in the Select Backup Set dialog no longer clears the list of available backup sets.
Viewing or updating an Amazon S3 Compatible Cloud Storage account no longer triggers a false validation error.
Partially selected drives or folders in a backup job now correctly show which items are selected.
Fixed several group management issues: dragging an agent into a new group no longer removes it from view; deleting a group with sub-groups no longer errors; agents are no longer orphaned when a parent group is deleted; users with access only to sub-groups can now see their groups.
Fixed an issue that prevented moving a group back to the root.
Fixed an error when creating a user with a username containing non-alphanumeric characters.
User details page no longer shows "I don't have permission to show this" to authorized users.
Loading indicators no longer appear when the Create File Backup Job page first opens.
Fixed missing input field labels throughout the Management Server interface.
Fixed an error that occurred when updating a local storage device.
File selection view now displays correctly when folders are deselected.
Backup client installer upload no longer fails with a transaction error.
Scroll bars no longer appear when expanding folders during destination selection.
Fixed a crash that occurred when changing a backup job's schedule.

NovaBACKUP Client

S3 backups no longer fail with an authorization error caused by the wrong AWS region in the request header.
Browsing restore points no longer returns backup sets from the wrong storage device type.
Backup pruning no longer fails when the catalog contains an entry with component ID 0.
Backup sets are now browseable in the restore view after certain backup configurations that previously blocked browsing.
Adding a storage device on a shared network location no longer overwrites the device identity file, which previously broke incremental backups for other machines sharing the same storage.
AES-256 encrypted restores no longer crash with a divide-by-zero error.
The "disable Volume Shadow Copy Service" setting in a backup job is now respected. Previously VSS was always used.
The next scheduled run time for managed backup jobs is now correct after a client upgrade.
Restoring an entire drive backup no longer hangs in "Restoring files" for an extended time.
Backing up Hyper-V virtual machine configuration files (.VMCX) to local storage no longer fails.
Backing up both Hyper-V and SQL in a single combined job to S3 no longer fails on non-English operating systems.
Restoring a UNC network share backup to an alternate or original location now succeeds when the root folder is selected.
SQL plugin backups no longer fail when SQL permissions are configured correctly.
SQL plugin backups with "Run as logged in user" no longer back up the entire C: drive when no user is logged in.
Old full backup seeds at the storage target are now cleaned up when Retention is set to 1 day.
Network or DNS issues during an S3 backup no longer cause subsequent job runs to report incorrect file counts or list phantom files in the restore index.
Restoring from a backup with the same filename in multiple folders on a network path no longer completes with warnings and incorrect counts.
When one of two Hyper-V VMs in a combined job has a file backup failure, the failed VM's virtual disk is no longer listed in the restore index.
File restore no longer returns zero files when the selected folder contains filenames with square bracket characters.
File restore no longer fails with "component not found" when at least one file in a folder is deselected.
The Mount function now works correctly when backup plugins (SQL, Hyper-V, System State) are included alongside regular files in the same job.
The Mount function now mounts files when plugin backup objects are present.
Opening a mounted backup in Windows Explorer no longer crashes when files were skipped during the original backup.
Files skipped during backup are no longer added to the restore catalog, which previously caused restore and mount problems in later jobs.

Improvements

NovaBACKUP Client

S3 restore job names now display in plain text across Management Server's Job History, Jobs, and Job Logs views instead of an encoded version.
Restoring SQL databases to an alternate location when multiple SQL instances are in the same backup now creates a separate folder per instance.
Restoring multiple Hyper-V virtual machines to an alternate location now creates a separate folder per VM.
Restores of network share backups to alternate locations now correctly recreate the full parent folder structure.
The backup engine detects corruption in the local backup catalog and automatically recovers by importing the latest data before the next backup run.
The agent's identity is preserved during uninstall, so reinstalling the backup client reconnects to the same agent record in Management Server instead of creating a duplicate.
Management Server connection settings are preserved across uninstall and reinstall, so the client reconnects automatically.
Network share (UNC path) credential validation has been improved to eliminate connection conflicts and to provide clearer error messages on bad credentials.
Agent reconnection after a fresh install is more resilient. Device sync and license activation are more reliable when reconnecting to an existing agent record.
Backup jobs handle temporary source unavailability more gracefully, preventing the backup chain from breaking when a source is momentarily unreachable.
S3 import performance for large backup sets has been improved.
Default backup engine performance settings have been updated for better throughput.
Mounting backup sets for SQL, Hyper-V, and System State no longer shows empty plugin folders.

Version 21.2.x

21.2.804

Release Date: 04AUG2025

New Features

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Added the ability to start managed jobs from Management Server.
Restore jobs can now specify an alternate restore location, a different user to run as, how existing files are handled at the destination, include and exclude filters, and notification options.
Added the ability to skip Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) snapshots for backup jobs.

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Client

Fixed restore issues for Local Backup and Cloud Backup devices where certain folders could not be expanded in the client GUI or Management Server Restore view (error: "Unable to access device X"). Upgrading the client to 21.2.804 resolves the issue.

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Fixed an issue deleting a NovaBACKUP cloud storage account.
Fixed an issue that could prevent email notifications from being sent from Management Server.
Fixed an error when viewing the details of an Amazon S3 compatible storage server.
Fixed an error when saving changes in the Management Server Administration utility.
Fixed an error when selecting a backup set during restore.
Fixed an error when clicking the title of the "Select Backup Set" dialog.

21.2.422

Release Date: 22APR2025

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Triggers from Management Server are now sent correctly. Previously, scheduled triggers could fail with "Object reference not set to instance".
Viewing or editing an Amazon S3 Storage Server no longer throws a 400 error about an invalid URI.

NovaBACKUP Client

Fixed a regression from 21.2.404.1 where backups to Local Backup devices using a Linux-based protected Samba share failed on certain Windows Server OSes with "The network path was not found."

21.2.404

Release Date: 07APR2025

New Features

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Upgraded the underlying framework from .NET 6 to .NET 8.
Added the ability to create and run restore jobs from the Management Server UI.
Added email address confirmation as a prerequisite for future two-factor authentication (2FA).
Added a view of backup storage usage by computer within each Amazon S3 compatible cloud storage account.
Added the ability to restrict users from managing backup client setup installer settings.
Added the ability to delete all data from an Amazon S3 compatible cloud storage account.

NovaBACKUP Client

Added a Mount function for file backups on modern backup devices. From the Restore tab, a backup set can be mounted as a virtual folder and browsed in Windows Explorer, then unmounted when finished. Plugin data (SQL, Hyper-V, System State) is not supported in this first iteration.
The Management Server UUID for an agent is now preserved across client reinstalls. This prevents duplicate Agent entries from appearing in Management Server after a reinstall.

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Fixed a Restore view failure ("Unexpected File Name") when listing Hybrid-enabled file backup jobs.
Imported DCT files in the Restore view now show the correct backup dates instead of grouping all points on a single day.
Renaming an agent that has a license key applied no longer errors.

NovaBACKUP Client

Fixed a regression from 21.1.1219.1 where the "Scanning" phase of a file backup to Local Backup and Cloud Backup devices could take hours instead of minutes. Scanning is now significantly faster.
Restores no longer fail with "FCT: Could not locate channel in any search path" when files exist in the backup. The engine now validates DCT files from latest to oldest, performs a full prune when retention is lowered, and imports missing DCT files.
Restores of network paths from Local Backup and Cloud Backup devices to original or alternate location no longer fail with "Error e0020007: Invalid command specified".
The "Enable Open File Backup" setting is now inherited correctly when upgrading from pre-21.2 builds.
Cloud Backup jobs no longer fail with a false out-of-quota error after a prior run was stopped by "Max Run Time".
Changing the encryption key or Access Key ID for a Cloud Backup (S3) device in Management Server no longer modifies the wrong device when multiple S3 devices are configured.
Backups to a Local Backup device no longer fail when the "Device Name" matches the base of the "Folder or network path" (e.g., name "LS220" with path \\LS220DE668B\...).
The Local Backup device add dialog now validates the "Device Name" field for unsupported special characters, preventing creation of devices that would fail on backup.

Version 21.1.x

21.1.1219

Release Date: 20DEC2024

New Features

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Added management (list, view, delete) of Amazon S3 compatible cloud storage devices per cloud storage account.
Improved error messages when a storage account cannot be deleted because devices are attached.
Improved error handling for agent communication failures.
Cleaned up help documentation by removing unsupported browsers, consolidating duplicated text, and simplifying instructions.
Added support for managing file-level backup jobs to Amazon S3 compatible archive storage, including retention, for hybrid backup strategies.
Added a role option to restrict users from managing other users.
All users can view and export their agent, license, and cloud storage details.
Added the ability to create and run restore jobs from the Management Server API. Creating and running restore jobs from the Management Server UI itself followed in 21.2.404.
Added the ability to export the Agents and Groups tree list.

NovaBACKUP Client

File scanning for backups and restores to Local Backup and Cloud Backup devices has been optimized to remove redundant scanning passes.
Backups to Local Backup and Cloud Backup devices now honor the Windows "FilesNotToBackup" registry key (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BackupRestore\FilesNotToBackup), in addition to the default nsexc.ini exclusions.
Cloud Backup job summary logs no longer include retry messages. Retries are still recorded in the per-job *.fpi.log file.

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Improved the error message shown when an agent is updated with an invalid client license key.
Improved error handling when calculating used space for cloud storage accounts and servers.
Fixed an issue when validating the path of a network device.
Fixed an issue that could prevent enabling retention on a file-level backup job.
Fixed an issue updating an Amazon S3 compatible device when multiple S3 devices are configured.

NovaBACKUP Client

Fixed an issue where some Cloud Backup clients were constantly deleting and re-importing indexes, which caused log warnings and longer backup times.
Fixed an upgrade issue where, if the Local Backup and Cloud Backup data directory had been relocated to a non-default path in the client configuration, jobs would fail after upgrade until the default data folder was removed manually.
Fixed a false out-of-quota error for Local Backup and Cloud Backup jobs after a prior run was stopped by Max Run Time.
Fixed a backup job Filters issue where large file counts produced a JSON file over 10 MB that could not be processed.
Fixed the "Unable to access device My local storage device" error when expanding a folder within a Local Backup restore set, both in the client GUI and in the Management Server UI.
Fixed an issue with duplicate encryption key names so that import and restore save new entries to nsconfig when needed.
Fixed an import failure ("Error e0010008: An invalid device was specified") for Local Backup and Cloud Backup devices with multiple encryption keys. The client now prompts for the missing key.
Fixed a case where the default exclusions (nsexc.ini) were not being applied to Local Backup and Cloud Backup jobs.

21.1.1010

Release Date: 14OCT2024

New Features

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Added management (list, view, delete) of Amazon S3 compatible cloud storage devices per storage account.
Improved error message for deletion of a storage account that is still in use.
Improved error handling for agent communication failures.
Updated help documentation: removed unsupported and obsolete browsers, consolidated duplicate text, and simplified instructions.
Added hybrid backup support with archive storage and retention for file-level backup jobs using Amazon S3 compatible archive storage.
Added a role option to restrict users from managing other users.

NovaBACKUP Client

Application file metadata now shows the full version number in file properties.
The "Quota Summary" section of backup logs now displays the actual device name for Cloud Backup (S3) targets and Hybrid-enabled jobs, which is especially useful for Hybrid jobs that do not otherwise name the Cloud device in the log.

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Improved the error message shown when updating an agent with an invalid client license key.
Improved error handling when calculating used space for cloud storage accounts and servers.

NovaBACKUP Client

Fixed a critical restore issue where file-level restores from any device type could fail with "Connection to Backup Service interrupted" at job start, with no log produced. Cloud Backup (S3) restores were generally not affected.
Fixed a WMI query error pop-up that could appear at the start of a client installation.
The "Quota Summary" section no longer appears in logs for Local Backup devices with no quota. It is now shown only when a quota is configured, and for Cloud Backup (S3) and Hybrid-enabled jobs.
Cloud Backup (S3) jobs no longer fail with "Error e0010019: Unable to encrypt/decrypt" and repeated "missingkeyname" errors during pruning.
Microsoft SQL plugin backups to Local Backup and Cloud Backup devices no longer fail with "Querying SQL info returned no info. Possibly a permissions issue." when SQL permissions are correctly configured.
Microsoft SQL plugin backups no longer back up the entire C: drive when scheduled with "Run as logged in user" and no user is logged in.

21.1.903

Release Date: 5SEP2024

New Features

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Added creation and management of Local and Network devices.
Added support for Backup Jobs targeting Local and Network devices.
Licenses can now be pushed to an Agent from the Management Console.
Removed the requirement to add a NovaBACKUP Cloud Storage Account to license an Agent. Agents on v21.1 and later inherit license from their Group.
New Backup Jobs now default to 30-day retention enabled.
General performance improvements from an upgraded UI framework.
Improved performance and usability for Custom Backup Client installer downloads.
Improved error handling for Cloud Storage Accounts.

NovaBACKUP Client

Added Hybrid Backup for Local Backup devices, which copies the at-rest backup to a Cloud Backup device. Retention is configurable per device.
Added enhanced logging and fixed several crash scenarios.
New scanning algorithm speeds up file list preparation and skips unnecessary paths. Note: existing Default Exclusions files may need to be updated. See the default exclusions KB article.
Enhanced Local Device configuration for NAS, network paths, and mapped drives.
Optimized retention for correctness and speed.
Cleaner user-facing log files with less noise.

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Adding and then removing a group's backup client setup installer now saves changes correctly.

NovaBACKUP Client

Log Collector now collects the ClientLogs directory when the OS uses a decimal symbol other than a period.
Job names for Local Backup and Cloud Backup restore jobs now display unencoded in the Logs tab, Restore tab, and Restore job log.

Version 21.0.x

21.0.410

Release Date: 12APR2024

New Features

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Added API support to view and delete a local storage device on an agent.
Added digital signing of backup client setup installers with a software publisher certificate.

NovaBACKUP Client

Removed "(optional)" text from the "Username" and "User password" fields in the Network Credentials tab for Local Backup and Legacy Network Device types. Only "Domain name" is optional.
Local Backup restores now show the correct Job Name (blank) in the Logs tab and Restore Job Log.
Renamed "Drive and Folder Path" to "Folder or Network Path" in the Local Backup tab.
The "Import" string no longer appears during automatic imports in the log.
Removed excess pruning details from the client log for Local Backup and Cloud Backup (non-legacy) devices.
Network share error messages ("Network error! Unable to access this network share..." and "Network share busy!") are now translated for all non-English client languages.

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Jobs, Notification Triggers, and Notification History pages no longer error with "The request could not be parsed".

NovaBACKUP Client

xSP Cloud Storage devices can now be expanded in the Restore tab (fix for a 21.0.319.1 regression).
Home tab "Cloud Backup" and Device tab "Click HERE to add..." no longer fail with "Unable to get desired device type info..." (fix for a 21.0.319.1 regression).
Cloud Backup S3 logs now display the correct data size instead of 0b.
Backups no longer crash when System State and another plugin are selected in the same job.

Removed Features

Digital signatures temporarily removed from all installer files due to certificate expiry. Some AV products (Norton in particular) may falsely flag NovaBACKUP 21.0.410.1 files. Add NovaBACKUP to your AV exclusions (see the AV exclusions KB article). Signing will return in a later 21.x release.

21.0.319

Release Date: 21MAR2024

New Features

NovaBACKUP Central Management

User lists in the API and UI now include total agents managed, total cloud storage accounts, and total storage used per user.
User lists now include counts of agents running on Windows Workstation vs Server operating systems.
Updated group management API to better match UI needs.
The Management Server URL is now saved to the database and can be updated from the Management Server Administration desktop app.
Group detail pages support downloading, customizing, and managing backup client setup installers.
The user profile page supports downloading a customized backup client setup installer.
Customized setup installers are cached for faster subsequent downloads.
Added API and UI support for managing software publisher certificates used to sign installers.

NovaBACKUP Client

Faster backup engine for local backups. Works with local disk-based storage devices and UNC network folder paths. See the NovaBACKUP 21 Quick Start Guide.
Incremental forever backup strategy for backup jobs.
Streamlined backup jobs — a single job can now cover multiple backup requirements.
Rotational media enhancements.
Restore view for incremental forever jobs.
Simplified product names to "NovaBACKUP PC Agent" and "NovaBACKUP Server Agent".

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Unselecting a child item of a selected root item in a backup job no longer errors.

NovaBACKUP Client

Renamed "Generic S3 Storage Services" to "Cloud Backup" and "Local Device" to "Local Backup" throughout the client.
Default retention for new backup jobs is now 30 days.
Local device Backup Settings now match Cloud device settings.
Indexes are now synced and imported periodically to keep the restore view accurate.
Storage Usage and Pruning now run on Cloud devices even when over quota.
Retention speed has been optimized. A Full Retention pass can now clean up past backups under the new retention scheme.
The engine now falls back to the previous DCT file when the current one cannot be opened.
Local device backups over UNC paths no longer fail with "data channel cannot be opened" in certain domain / non-domain configurations.
If engine.exe is killed, crashes, or the machine reboots during a backup, incomplete restore index entries are no longer created (previously they could lock up the client with nsService.exe at 100% CPU).
If engine.exe fails during a Local device backup, the Status tab, Logs tab, and Backup Log now correctly report the job as Failed instead of Successful.
Added the ability to import Local Backup device data for restore.
Restores of large numbers of folders, files, and history entries are significantly faster.
Restoring Cloud and Local backups at the UNC root "node" to the original location now restores files correctly.
Cached encryption keys are now used by restore (previously restore would repeatedly prompt and then complete without restoring data).
Restoring a file backup containing UNC paths to an alternate location now creates a parent folder per UNC node.
Restoring Cloud and Local backups containing UNC paths to the original location no longer fails with "unable to recover object //unc/..." warnings.
By default, new or upgrade installs no longer allow selecting a legacy device target for normal backup jobs.
System State backup with the top-level "System State" object selected no longer fails instantly.
Include and Exclude Wildcard filters no longer block open-in-use files from backing up.
Backup log summaries no longer list items that do not apply to the device type (such as "Backup type: Full", "Verify Mode: Normal", and "Open File Backup").
The summary.xml log no longer truncates the first 4 characters of drive and folder paths.
The default exclusions file (nsexc.ini) now applies to Local and Cloud device backups (previously the exclusions were hardcoded in engine.exe).
Left bracket character [ in folder or file names no longer causes backups to fail.
Backup Filters and Restore Filters now work for Local and Cloud device file backups and restores.
Hyper-V + SQL combo jobs to Cloud no longer fail, on any OS language.
Removed the "To Time Mode" function at the top of the Restore tab.
Added restore of System State to alternate locations for Local and Cloud devices.
Added selectable items for System State backups to Local and Cloud devices.
Restores to protected UNC or local drive paths now use impersonation so the target is writable.

Removed Features

Single tape drive device support has been removed. Tape devices may still appear in the Restore index and may be able to restore existing non-spanning tapes, but backups to tape are no longer supported. Use NovaBACKUP 20.0.x for tape.
x86 / 32-bit OS support has been removed. The 21.x client cannot be installed on a 32-bit OS. Image Backup and the new backup engine require 64-bit. Use 20.1.1118.1 if 32-bit is required.

Version 20.1.x

20.1.1108

Release Date: 13NOV2023

New Features

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Updated API docs to include HTTP 204 for POST /api/Group.
Group creation page now supports associating a group with backup client setup installers.
Managed Amazon S3 compatible devices are automatically updated when their linked S3 cloud storage account changes.
Backups to managed S3 devices are automatically disabled when the associated license expires.
Added the ability to set the parent group during group creation.
Improved input validation error messages when creating a group.
Improved error message when creating a role with an existing name.
Default grid page size increased from 10 to 25 for Agents and Groups and Cloud Storage Accounts.
Added a dedicated API endpoint for retrieving group details.
Added CSV and XLS export of users.

NovaBACKUP Client

Added filter options for backup jobs that target Amazon S3 compatible devices.
Removed irrelevant messages from backup logs for jobs targeting S3 compatible devices.

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Listing groups with expanded Users now returns the expected response.
Creating a group with notes now returns the expected response.
The Role column on the Users page displays and filters correctly.
S3 cloud storage accounts' used-space calculation no longer fails.
Encryption key validation now works when updating an S3 cloud storage account.
Disabling user registrations now works.

NovaBACKUP Client

Pruning of old backups now works for jobs targeting S3 compatible devices.
Files are no longer included twice in backup jobs targeting S3 compatible devices.
Backup logs and email notifications for S3-targeted jobs now display the correct device name.

20.1.913

Release Date: 18SEP2023

New Features

NovaBACKUP Central Management

The Cloud Storage Accounts page shows the quota for S3 accounts linked to a backup client license key.
Added Groups to Backup Client Setup Installer associations.
Added expandable navigation properties when listing groups.
Quota is now retrieved periodically for license-linked S3 accounts so S3 devices auto-update during agent synchronization.

NovaBACKUP Client

Added "Skip existing, same, or newer files" option to restores from S3 compatible devices.
The DR recovery environment now includes a Firefox shortcut on the desktop for looking up help articles or troubleshooting during a long image restore (internet access required).

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Fixed errors that could occur when viewing agent details.
Fixed errors that could occur when updating a user's email address.
Fixed errors that could occur when creating a new group.
Updated help documentation screenshots.
The installer no longer incorrectly requires KB2919442 on Server 2012 R2 when KB2919355 is already installed.

NovaBACKUP Client

Deleting an S3 compatible device now removes all local configuration.
S3 restores now honor the restore settings for existing files instead of always overwriting.
Pruning failures for some S3 backup jobs are resolved.
Credential check failures for S3 compatible devices are resolved.
Elapsed Time now reports correctly during S3 backup and restore operations.
Manual image backups no longer fail with "Invalid volume size, size should be within the storage limit 1".
Manual image backups now prompt for destination network credentials when needed.
Same KB2919442 / KB2919355 installer prerequisite fix as Management Server.
Fixed two minor spelling errors visible in the DR recovery environment.

NovaBACKUP Storage Server

Same KB2919442 / KB2919355 installer prerequisite fix.

20.1.808

Release Date: 10AUG2023

New Features

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Improved database validation to prevent data inconsistency.
Added the ability to set the S3 compatible storage server when creating or updating an S3 cloud storage account.
Default role for new user registrations can now be changed.
Input validation enforces unique cloud storage accounts.
Prevented deletion of the last user who can edit storage servers.
More consistent API error messages when updating roles.
Added per-role access limits for storage servers.
Added the ability to list all cloud storage accounts associated with a specific S3 storage server.
Storage servers now report used storage space.
Added quota management for S3 cloud storage accounts and devices.
Added the ability to scan and recalculate a cloud storage account's used space.
Added export of cloud storage usage for a specific S3 storage server.
Extended OS detection for agent reporting.
Added optional deletion of data when deleting an S3 cloud storage account or storage server.
Added management of the backup client agent service from an external browser. Default startup is Automatic (Delayed Start).
Disabled renaming of S3 cloud storage account user names to prevent used-space inconsistency.
Added encrypted backups to S3 compatible devices.
Added Hyper-V, SQL, and UNC-path backup and restore for S3 compatible devices.
New workflow for scheduling Image backups simplifies job creation and retention of image files.
Added incremental and differential options for VHD(x) image backups.
User names for S3 cloud storage accounts and devices now support up to 40 characters.
Group names now support up to 64 characters.
Added management (upload, download, customize, delete) of backup client setup installers.
Improved performance, memory management, and agent communication.
The encryption key is now masked in the S3 cloud storage UI.
Added quota status and percentage values when querying S3 cloud storage accounts.

NovaBACKUP Client

Improved job names during restore.
Improved file statistics in the job status file during a backup.
Added the ability to specify and enforce quotas for S3 compatible devices.
Added the ability to stop and resume a backup job, and to restore partial backups, for S3 compatible backups.
Added the ability to disable backups to an S3 compatible device.
Replaced the embedded Internet Explorer engine with Edge for the Home tab "In the news" panel and for viewing job logs.
Cloud storage device user names now support up to 40 characters.
Improved job logs, image backup, and image restore.
The Device tab now shows the amount of free space for S3 compatible devices.
Improved performance of the agent service when sending job logs to Management Server.
Added support for the Windows 11 ADK when creating advanced image backup boot media.
Added a button and updated links to download the Windows ADK (see novabackup.com/bootmedia).

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Central Management

The LastModified field now updates on user and role updates via the API.
Password attempt counts are now reset when unlocking user accounts via the API.
Users can no longer lock themselves out when updating their details via the API.
The Delete button is no longer incorrectly enabled after updating an S3 compatible storage server that cannot be deleted.
The cloud storage account type list now shows only supported types for the selected storage server.
Only expected storage server types are listed when creating a new storage server.
More consistent error messages when deleting a storage server via the API.
The OpenAPI specification now includes parameter requirements.
Fixed API calls that use a string as the identifier.
Fixed NovaBACKUP cloud device connection tests.

NovaBACKUP Client

Large backup set recovery from S3 compatible devices is now more reliable.
Hyper-V backups to S3 compatible devices no longer fail.
The job-edit UI no longer allows editing fields that should not be editable.
Backups no longer fail on machines with no SQL Server instances installed.
Drives now display correctly when creating a Scheduled Image Backup job.
Import now reports accurate results.
Files with special characters are no longer incorrectly excluded from backups.
Management Server can now display backup job logs that previously failed to load.
Advanced boot media creation now detects Windows 11 ADK 22H2 + WinPE addon (May 2023 release).
Scheduled Image Backup jobs with both encryption and verification enabled no longer fail (regression from 20.0.x).
Certain NVMe and M.2 drives now appear in the Scheduled Image Backup selection list. Note: jobs created in 19.x or 20.0.x targeting NVMe / M.2 drives may need to be re-created in 20.1.x to work.

Removed Features / New Requirements

Removed support for Windows 8.1 in both Management Server and the Client.
Removed Internet Explorer dependencies from Management Server and the Client.
Removed the default Management Server address www.mydomain.com so the agent no longer auto-connects to it.
Removed the Support tab from the Client in favor of Help > On The Web > Technical Support.
Removed the embedded browser window used to create managed cloud devices. The default web browser is now used instead.
Removed the "Ask a question" search bar from the Home tab.

Version 20.0.x

20.0.1118

Release Date: 20NOV2022

New Features

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Added a permission indicating that a role can reset user passwords.
Added additional security checks on API endpoints.
Added per-role access limits for Amazon S3 compatible storage servers.

NovaBACKUP Client

Added encrypted backups to S3 compatible devices.
Added Hyper-V, SQL, and UNC-path backup and restore for S3 compatible devices.
New workflow for scheduling Image backups simplifies job creation and retention.
Added incremental and differential options for VHD(x) image backups.

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Fixed IE11 compatibility for the cloud storage accounts grid in the embedded client browser.
"Completed files (size)" is now accurate for S3 backup and restore logs viewed in Management Server.
"Current Speed" and "effective throughput" are now displayed correctly in S3 backup and restore logs for File, MS SQL, and Hyper-V jobs.

NovaBACKUP Client

Restore index now lists and restores local device backups produced by v19.8 and earlier after upgrade to 20.0.1011.1 and later.
Restoring multiple Microsoft SQL Server database backups now works (multi-instance was the main failure case).
Encryption for Scheduled Image Backup jobs can be enabled at create or edit time without failure.
Import and restore from S3 compatible devices now complete correctly.
Hyper-V VM restore from S3 to original location no longer crashes nsservice.
"Completed files (size)" is now accurate in S3 job logs in the client.
"Current Speed" and "effective throughput" are now displayed correctly in client-side S3 logs for File, MS SQL, and Hyper-V jobs.
Removed the 6-minute delay at the start of SQL database backups to S3 compatible devices.
Selecting an unsupported backup source (System State, MS Exchange, or VMware plugins) with an S3 destination now logs a warning.

Removed Features / New Requirements

Removed support for NovaBACKUP Granular Restore (NBGR) for Exchange and SQL. Existing NBGR installs can continue to be used, but NovaBACKUP Support can no longer assist with NBGR.
Windows 7, Server 2008 SBS SP2, Server 2008 R2, SBS 2011, and Windows 8.0 are no longer supported. Installers have not yet been updated to block installation on these OSes.
.NET Framework 4.7.2 is now a prerequisite and is installed automatically.
Management Server: Microsoft ASP.NET Core 3.1.10 Windows Hosting Bundle is now a prerequisite and can be installed automatically by the Management Server setup. Management Server no longer supports Windows Server 2012 (2012 R2 is still supported).
Management Server: The stand-alone web server and SQLite database provider are no longer supported.

20.0.1011

Release Date: 12OCT2022

New Features

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Updated database schema to support additional file backup job settings and improve data integrity.
Added support for S3 compatible devices.
Added file backup jobs with S3 compatible devices as the destination.
Added S3 compatible destinations as a Storage Server for cloud backups.
Added S3 compatible Cloud Storage Accounts.
Implemented additional API calls with usage examples.
Updated the UI framework and .NET hosting bundle.

NovaBACKUP Client

Added encrypted backups to S3 compatible devices.
Added Hyper-V, SQL, and UNC-path backup and restore for S3 compatible devices.
New workflow for scheduling Image backups.
Added incremental and differential options for VHD(x) image backups.

Fixed Issues

NovaBACKUP Central Management

Fixed filter behavior on the Modified column in the file selection grid for connected agents.
Fixed input validation for target destinations when creating, viewing, and updating a file backup job.
Fixed the one-time schedule "Start time" popup on smaller screen resolutions.
Fixed errors that could occur when modifying custom email server settings for a backup job.
Installer no longer fails if the selected IIS website is not listening on port 80.
Fixed typos in backup job email notification settings and in the file type filter menu.
Fixed errors caused by cookies containing non-ASCII characters.
Fixed date and time handling when the user's time zone differs from the server's.
Tooltips no longer display "null" in the destination field when creating a file backup job.
Input validation error messages for date and time fields are now more specific.
The filter Size fields now accept decimal values.
Fixed a typo on the user profile's language and culture page.
Fixed an error when viewing a virtual machine file-level backup log.
Job log messages are now displayed in the correct order.
Filtering jobs by type now works.
Viewing selected items of a connected agent's file backup job now works.

NovaBACKUP Client

Fixed connections to Amazon S3 servers in specific regions.
Fixed an issue that could prevent restoring a Hyper-V virtual machine from a cloud storage device.
Backups no longer hang when the job name contains special characters.
S3 compatible devices now report total used space to Management Server.
Fixed connections to Amazon S3 compatible servers on ports other than 443.
Fixed differential image backup creation and restore.
Fixed backups to S3 compatible storage locations that only support HTTPS.

Removed Features / New Requirements

Same as 20.0.1118 above: NBGR support removed, legacy Windows OSes no longer supported, .NET Framework 4.7.2 prerequisite added, Management Server ASP.NET Core 3.1.10 Hosting Bundle prerequisite added, Management Server stand-alone web server and SQLite support removed.

Persistent Known Issues & Workarounds

The following issues are present across multiple NovaBACKUP 21.x releases. Where a fix is already available, the version that resolves it is noted.

Anti-Virus / Endpoint Control

ThreatLocker (and similar AV software) can block the auto-update function. If the NovaBACKUP 21.x exclusions are not added in ThreatLocker, the "Automatically update before running a backup" function can delete client services and .exe files, block licensing and activation, and create duplicate agent entries in Management Server. See Exclude NovaBACKUP Files and Directories from Anti-Virus Scanning. Affects: all 21.x versions.

Local Backup and Cloud Backup devices

Google Drive virtual drive letter in the backup selection causes backup failure. With Google Drive Desktop in "Stream files" mode, the virtual drive letter cannot be backed up to a Local Backup or Cloud Backup device. Workaround: switch Google Drive to "Mirror files" mode and select the local My Drive folder, or remove the virtual drive letter from the selection. The "Run As" and "Open File Backup" (VSS) options do not affect the outcome. Affects: all 21.x Local Backup and Cloud Backup device backups. Legacy device backups are not affected.
exFAT target drives can break VSS on Local Backup devices. If the target drive uses exFAT (not NTFS), the "Open File Backup" (VSS) option may cause some files to be skipped with "unable to store". Workaround: reformat the target partition as NTFS, or disable VSS on the backup job (the option to disable VSS is honored starting in 21.3.410).
Recovery partition with a drive letter can trigger a VSS snapshot warning. If a visible WinRE partition is on Disk 0 with a filesystem VSS does not support, the log may show "warning: could not create vss snapshot addtosnapshotset: idispatch error #8460" and some files may be skipped. Workaround: remove the drive letter from the Recovery partition using diskpart, or disable VSS on the backup job.
Restore from a protected network share fails with "fat table not found" and "fct: could not locate channel" when using "Run as logged in user". Workaround: change the Restore job's Run As setting to "Run as specified user" and supply credentials that match the Local Backup device. Backups are not affected.
Hyper-V and MS SQL plugin backups on Local Backup and Cloud Backup devices cannot be restored to the original location. Workaround: restore to an alternate folder location.
System State backup of "Certificate Services" fails silently on Domain Controllers. The backup produces no log when this System State object is included. No workaround currently.
Device Name field length limit. The Management Server UI allows up to 99 characters in the "Name" field for Local Backup and Cloud Backup devices, but backups fail when the name exceeds approximately 32 characters. Validation for unsupported special characters was added in 21.2.404.1, but the 32-character length limit is not yet enforced in the UI. Existing devices that hit the limit must be re-created.

Mount Function

The Mount "Stop" button may not work once a backup is successfully mounted. Workaround: use "UnMount" in the Restore tab. If UnMount does not respond, end engine.exe via Task Manager, then click UnMount to release the mount state.

Windows Server 2025 and 24H2 (Domain Controllers with UAC enabled)

Plugin queries fail on Domain Controllers with UAC enabled. No plugins list and any job with plugins fails. Workaround: disable UAC (EnableLUA = 0) and reboot. See KB: Querying plugins failed.
DR / Image Backup fails on Server 2025 DCs with UAC enabled. drdiag.exe cannot stay running. Workaround: disable UAC. See KB: Create Image error on 24H2 with UAC enabled.
Backup / Restore / Mount can hang on 24H2 Domain Controllers with UAC enabled. Workaround: disable UAC. Non-DC 24H2 systems may show similar symptoms. Affects: 21.2.x.

Management Server Managed Jobs

Managed file backup job names with special characters (e.g., :) break the job script file. The Windows filename rules (\ / : * ? < > |) apply, but Management Server does not currently validate the job name. Workaround: avoid those characters. The client GUI already validates them.
Renaming a managed job after save does not propagate to the Schedule tab. Management Server and the client Schedule tab continue to show the original name. The ability to rename a saved managed job will be removed in a future Management Server release.

Older (20.x) Known Issues

Importing a backup that already has an entry on the Restore tab from a different location — the software cannot replace the existing entry and falsely reports success. Workaround: delete the existing Restore tab entry before importing.
Image Boot Media "Simple" mode requires Windows installation files on the system. The client will detect their absence. If they are missing, use "Advanced" mode to create the boot media.
Image Backup (20.1.808 through 20.1.913): VMs booted from a produced VHD/VHDx file may not start because the OS partition has no drive letter. Workaround: boot the VM from Windows install media or NovaBACKUP DR boot media, assign a drive letter to the OS partition via DISKPART, and repair the boot records. See Repair VM boot (Workstation OS) and Repair VM boot (Server OS).
Upgraded Scheduled Image Backup jobs targeting NVMe / M.2 drives may fail after upgrade from 19.x or 20.0.x to 20.1.x. Workaround: recreate the scheduled image jobs in 20.1.x.

Unsupported NovaBACKUP Version / Changelog Archive

For releases older than 20.0.1011, see the Unsupported NovaBACKUP Version / Changelog Archive.

Other Notes

Some older versions may not install on current operating systems. If NovaBACKUP is installed on an OS that Microsoft no longer supports, Technical Support will be limited and a version upgrade may not be possible. See the Microsoft Product End of Support page for lifecycle details.